Monday, August 31

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains

Director: Lou Adler

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082639

Review: A bit over-acted at times but holds interest while managing to keep a fairly anarchic tone.

Watch it if: You're interested in punk music.

And if you liked: We Are the Best!, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, The Punk Singer

Hardware

Director: Richard Stanley

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099740

Review: A few odd choices aside, manages to build a tense and moody atmosphere with good use of bold coloured light and a great soundtrack.

Watch it if: You want to see the early 90s concentrated.

And if you liked: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Blade Runner, Alien, Dust Devil

Check this out: SHOK!

Monday, August 24

The Punk Singer

Director: Sini Anderson

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1785612

Review: A fascinating and heartfelt insight into the career of creatively and ideologically interesting person.

Watch it if: You have an interest in punk music and/or feminism.

And if you liked: End of the Century, Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten, American Splendor

Sunday, August 23

Sinister 2

Director: Ciarán Foy

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2752772

Review: Plays out as a potentially interesting overwrought family drama that keeps getting interrupted by a badly made Slipknot child-ghost movie.

Watch it if: You're stupid like me.

And if you liked: Sinister, The Orphanage

Computer Chess

Director: Andrew Bujalski

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2007360

Review: Has an interesting approach but never really lands and eventually falls into unearned science-fiction silliness.

Watch it if: You're ok with a lot of awkward line deliveries.

And if you liked: Escape from Tomorrow, Primer, Pi, Clerks

Monday, August 17

Spellbound

Director: Jeffrey Blitz

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0334405

Review: An interesting perspective on a subculture that manages to portray the stakes of its subject while never over-inflating its importance in a larger context.

Watch it if: You're interested in some of the bizarre minutia of Middle America.

And if you liked: This American Life, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Sunday, August 9

The Gift

Director: Joel Edgerton

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4178092

Review: Intriguing and tense all the way through with a winding plot that doesn't fully reveal until the very end.

Watch it if: You're ok with not being quite sure who to side with in a film.

And if you liked: The Guest, Old Boy, One Hour Photo

Saturday, August 8

Fantastic Four (2015)

Director: Josh Trank

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1502712

Review: Has some shades of greatness and a few lovely images but descends into absolutely bizarre rushed dialogue and action beats towards the end.

Watch it if: You're interested in seeing how a messily made curiosity can play out.

And if you liked: Prometheus, Green Lantern, Chronicle

Tuesday, August 4

Creep

Director: Patrick Brice

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2428170

Review: Does one or two interesting things and has a few nice shots but definitely feels like an experiment by people who don't realise how played out some of these clichés are.

Watch it if: You're not completely sick to death of found footage yet.

And if you liked: Willow Creek, The Sacrament

Saturday, August 1

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2381249

Review: Runs longer than it should but filled with fun action set-pieces and has a reasonably clean plot to follow.

Watch it if: You enjoy a good Tom Cruise romp.

And if you liked: Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol